1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to baffles located within liquid receptacles to control surging, and particularly pertains to baffles formed of polymeric material capable of being easily assembled and reinforced.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many types of firefighting vehicles utilize a water storage tank or receptacle for dispensing water upon the fire. Such tanks upon large firefighting vehicles may have capacities of several hundred gallons and for safety and other reasons, it is common to baffle the interior of water receptacles on firefighting vehicles to control surging due to forces imposed upon the water during vehicle movement.
Commonly, the baffles within firefighting vehicle tanks consist of longitudinal and transverse plate members located within the water tank or receptacle to divide the capacity into smaller "cells". Adjacent cells are in communication with each other by openings or passages of such dimension as to prevent objectionable transfer of water between adjacent cells during surging, but are large enough to permit the water from all of the cells to be utilized during water pumping.
The fabricating of water baffles is complicated and time consuming in that extensive welding of intersecting plate members is required, and in the event that the water receptacle and baffles are damaged during a vehicle collision, the repair of the water tank and baffles is expensive and time consuming. It is known to form water tank baffles for firefighting vehicles of polymeric material such as polypropylene or polyethylene, but such baffles also require welding with a polymeric material, and the repair of such polymeric baffles is very difficult as the welds must be cut out and repaired.